Little League Rules

Are you interested in learning the rules of Little League Baseball? Your best source is going directly to www.littleleague.org. There you will find the basic rules that govern Little League, as well as any new rules changes.

Pitch Count

Little League places a great deal of emphasis on player safety, which should please all parents. In a move to protect young arms, Little League has implemented pitch count rules. In Easton Little League regular season play, the following pitch count rules must be followed.

For players league age 14 and under:

1 - 20 pitches in one day, no days of rest are needed before pitching again.

21 - 35 pitches in one day, one calendar day of rest must be observed before pitching again (ex. if a player throws 25 pitches on Monday, s/he cannot pitch again until Wednesday).

36 - 50 pitches in one day, two calendar days of rest must be observed before pitching again (ex. if a player throws 45 pitches on Monday, s/he cannot pitch again until Thursday).

51 - 65 pitches in one day, three calendar days of rest must be observed before pitching again (ex. if a player throws 55 pitches on Monday, s/he cannot pitch again until Friday).

66 or more pitches, four calendar days of rest must be observed before pitching again.

For players league age 15 to 18:

1 - 30 pitches in one day, no days or games of rest are needed before pitching again.

31 - 45 pitches in one day, one calendar day of rest must be observed before pitching again (ex. if a child throws 35 pitches on Monday, s/he cannot pitch again until Wednesday).

46 - 60 pitches in one day, two calendar days of rest must be observed before pitching again (ex. if a child throws 55 pitches on Monday, s/he cannot pitch again until Thursday).

61 - 75 pitches in one day, three calendar days of rest must be observed before pitching again (ex. if a child throws 55 pitches on Monday, s/he cannot pitch again until Friday).

76 or more pitches, fourcalendar days of rest must be observed before pitching again.

There are also maximum numbers of pitches that can be thrown in a day for each age group. The are as follows:

League Age 17-18: 105 pitches per day

League Age 13-16: 95 pitches per day

League Age 11-12: 85 pitches per day

League Age 9-10: 75 pitches per day

League Age 7-8: 50 pitches per day

When a pitcher reaches his or her maximum, s/he must be taken out as pitcher, unless the maximum is reached while facing a batter. In that case, the pitcher can continue to pitch until the batter reaches base, the batter is put out, or the half-inning ends. If a pitcher is removed due to pitch count, s/he can remain in the game at any other position with one exception. If the pitcher has thrown 41 or more pitches, the pitcher cannot play catcher for the remainder of that day.

During tournament play, there may be different pitch count maximums, as well as a difference in the days of rest.

Of course, these are the basic rules and there are exceptions for certain circumstances. As always, your best source for specific information and other rules is www.littleleague.org.